The Blink of an Eye
by Liv Cassidy
Summary: So much can happen in a blink of an eye; lives can be lost, and the course of others' lives can be changed forever. An alternative ending to the episode "Who Knew?"
1. Prologue

**Summary: **So much can happen in a blink of an eye; lives can be lost, and the course of others' can be changed forever. (_Alternative ending to Season 2 – Who Knew?)_

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_The Blink of an Eye

_ I've finally spread my wings; I can fly, _seventeen year old Matt Camden thought as he flew out of the confinement of his parents' home. All of his life, living as a preacher's kid, he had lived under his father's strict uncanny rules. While always wanting to rebel, he always had to put on that _good boy _image in the end knowing he had to do what was right. Every attempt at rebelling eminently failed; now, it was as if he had finally succeeded at pure rebellion.

He hadn't even smoked marijuana, not yet; regardless to what his parents thought. _"Is this why you've never been able to hold down a job_?_"_ his father had spat at him during his outburst in there. _No, I can't hold down a job because I have a prick for a father, _Matt thought. Some might consider him lucky; his father _did _care about him. He cared far too much.

_"…what if one of the younger kids had found this?" _his father had asked him; the thought was still embedded in Matt's mind. _"...if you would have thought about anybody but yourself for a second it might have occurred to you that the look that you just saw on Simon's face is the look of a kid who's just lost all respect for his older brother."_ Simon. Matt shuddered at the thought of losing Simon forever. He remembered the day his baby brother was born; it had been the happiest day of his life. Matt remembered his promise to baby Simon: "I'm going to be the best big brother ever to you, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about life!" After having two little sisters, a baby brother had been a blessing. That had been eleven years ago; Matt had only been six years old.

People changed; Matt had changed since he was six. He wasn't the best big brother to Simon. He had let down all of his siblings, even Ruthie. _Oh God, Ruthie, _he thought. Poor little Ruthie; he knew she looked up to him. _She's too little to understand, _Matt decided, which comforted him slightly. He had to do this; he had to break free for once.

A rush of adrenaline filled Matt's body as he dove into the back of Mitch's car; Johnny D and Mitch were in the front. "Sup bro?" Mitch greeted his friend.

"Nothin', let's get out of here!" Matt stipulated anxiously. He kept glancing back at the front door just waiting for his father to come chasing after him, but he didn't. As they drove away down the street Matt kept turning his neck still waiting for his father to come running after them. He didn't.

"You're gonna have a blast, preacher boy!" Johnny D told him. "We'll show you how to have some real fun." _Real fun, I could use some real fun, _Matt thought. The wind blew in his hair as he looked ahead. His instincts told him this was wrong. He couldn't turn back now, it was too late. This was his chance; his change to experience what life was all about – his chance to breech out of his _preacher boy _image.

_This is wrong, _Matt couldn't help but think. He thought of his siblings at home; of Mary, of Lucy, of Simon, and of course of little Ruthie. _I'm their role model, _Matt told himself_, they look up to me_. He pushed that thought out of his head. This wasn't about them, it was about him. As much as he wanted to shout_, "Stop the car!" _he resisted. His mouth remained pinned shut by his teeth digging into his lip. The wind blew in his hair, across his face, and he felt a cold sweat dripping down his face.

"You look a little tense," Mitch commented, turning around. "Here, have this." He handed him a marijuana cigar, similar to the one he had given Matt earlier that day. Mitch handed him the lighter.

"That will relax your tension," Johnny D assured, taking his eyes off the road for a few moments to glance back at Matt.

Matt looked down at the cigarette_; to smoke, or not to smoke. _There he had two choices. Slowly, he found himself lighting the cigarette. He looked up to see Johnny D watching him, still not paying attention to the road.

"Don't you think you should be watching the road?" Matt questioned anxiously in his cold sweat, noticing the car beginning to swerve back and forth. His head begun to spin; he wasn't sure if it was because of the smell from the cigarette or because the car was off course.

"Preacher boy, don't worry, I've got me some eyes in the back of my head," Johnny D laughed, still disregarding the road ahead of him. Matt's attention focused to the road unnoticed by Johnny D. They had swerved to the other side of the lane and a blue Chevy was coming at them head on.

Matt's heart leaped a mile. Without thinking, he threw the cigarette out of the car. "Johnny D! Look!" Matt yelled in panic as he reached for the steering wheel. It was too late. He blinked as a whoosh of wind overcame his body preventing his muscles from functioning. A bright light flashed over his line of vision and all went black.

_It was all over in the blink of an eye  
Thousands of people walking by  
a big black bird swooped out of the sky  
nobody knew the reason why_

_- Procol Harum ~ "The Blink of an Eye"_

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**Note: **This is only a prologue, I know it's very short. This is just an idea I had after again seeing _"Who Knew?" _ You all are probably wondering if I ever get happy ideas to write about. Nonetheless, let me know what you think, I do have an idea of where I could take this if people want me to continue.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Surprise, surprise; I bet you guys thought I'd never update this. (: I decided to take a temporary break from Outside Heaven (don't worry, it shouldn't last long… the whole story is plotted out ;)) Instead of doing something boneheaded like start a new story [though I want to… xD] I decided to work on something I started awhile ago, so you guys didn't think I've abandoned everything except Outside Heaven…

Oh, little note: In all my stories the _italics _symbolize thoughts OR words and actions taken from the actual episode. In the case of this chapter (and the last), all _italics_ that were taken from the actual show are from Season 2; _Who Knew_?

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The Blink of an Eye

Chapter 1

**_Mary and Lucy's Room:_**

_A knock sounded and their mother cracked the door open. "Your father and I are going out for a few minutes. Keep an eye on Simon and Ruthie. Okay?"_

"_We will," Mary responded quickly and their mother closed the door._

_A chilling silence lingered. Lucy looked at her older sister eerily. "Mary," she started, seemingly frightened of the answer she may receive. "Have you ever smoked pot?" She had always looked up to her older sister; then again, so had she her brother. The thought that she might not know her siblings as well as she thought she did, frightened Lucy. _

"_No!" Mary shot. "What; have you?" Mary couldn't comprehend why her little sister would throw such an accusation towards her… unless, of course, she had herself. She would kill her!_

_Her eyes shot wide open; Lucy hadn't seen that coming. "Of course not!" Lucy cried. Mary looked away from her sister, sighing. Lucy sighed, "I don't think things will ever be the same between Dad and Matt." She sighed again and added, "Or even Mom and Matt." _

"_Yeah," Mary agreed looking up towards the ceiling. "I don't see how they could be." She looked over at her sister. "You know, it's like Wilson says. It's one of those mistakes you just can't take back." The two gazed up at the ceiling sighing…_

The room had a frightening chill to it. Lucy shivered as she felt goose bumps crawling up her arms. She looked back on her day; when had come home from school that afternoon all she had wanted to do was impress Rod. Had someone told her today at school that her older brother did drugs, she would have punched them in his defense. She couldn't believe it. All of this time she had looked up to her older brother; only now to realize he was a scumbag.

Mary couldn't stand the awkward, dingy silence. She needed to get out of the room. "I'm going to go check on Simon and Ruthie," she told her sister. Lucy nodded in understanding. Before Mary could step towards the door, the phone rang. Her eyebrows rose looking at her little sister. She glanced at the clock; nine o'clock. Who would be calling at nine o'clock? Surely not their parents; they were cell phoneless; Matt? Was he in trouble? Hurriedly, Mary reached for the phone. "Camden residence."

"This is Sergeant Michaels; Mrs. Camden?" _The cops? What did Matt do? _Mary's heart throttled.

"No, this is Mary Camden – my parents are out of the house and I'm watching the kids. Can I take a message?" Mary's heart froze as she waited.

"Oh, well, do you know when your parents will be home, Mary?" Mary knew it had to be bad if he wouldn't come straight with her.

"They didn't say," Mary told him, trying to remain polite with a police official. "But you can tell me and I'm sure I can pass along the message." She hinted; she needed to know.

"Unfortunately, this isn't a message that I feel comfortable giving over the phone to a minor," Sergeant Michaels told her. Her heart stopped.

"Look, if it involves my brother. I need to know, please, I can handle it. Please tell me," she pleaded, her mouth dried up and she felt chills sweeping through her body. She felt as though she had just seen a ghost.

"Mary, there has been an accident…" sickness filled her stomach; she felt her face turning pale as her pulse slowed down. Her heart was cold as she gazed into her sister's concerned blue eyes.

* * *

**_In the car:_**

"We've drove around the block five times now," Annie sighed gazing over at her husband in the driver's seat. "I really don't think driving around the block one more time is going to help us find Matt."

Eric sighed, turning to his wife. "You're right. I know of a place that can help us find Matt." Annie gave her husband a questionable look as she wondered where that place might be. Instead of turning left when he reached the stop sign, her husband turned right – the direction toward the church. _Prayer can bring Matt back to us. _Eric rounded the bend just down the street from the church.

Seconds later, flashes of blue and red lights blinded Eric and Annie's line of vision. The road was blocked off by police. Their hearts dropped as they glanced at each other. Eric pulled over to the side of the road, flinging his car door open – his wife was right behind him. The two raced over to the scene of the accident. An officer brought his hands up trying to stop them, "I'm sorry, you must stay away from the scene!"

Eric pushed the officer away in a rage. Paramedics were carrying a body bag. _Matt? _It was dark; making a clear image of the scene difficult to perceive. Eric's eyes gazed over towards the two mutilated cars. A blue Chevy and a red sports car; both were crushed beyond recognition. The smell of death was in the air. He looked down to see a splatter of blood on the ground. His eyes shot over towards the ambulance; a possible survivor was being lifted into it.

"Excuse me sir, you're not supposed to be back here! This is a crime scene and it's still under investigation!" A man in uniform stood in front of him. Eric pushed him away and he ran breathlessly towards the ambulance.

"Eric!" a familiar voice called his name.

Eric spun around and met eyes with Sergeant Michaels.

"I called your house and spoke with Mary," he told Eric. His face was solemn and cold. "Eric, I'm so sorry…" Eric's heart sunk at the sound of those words. He blinked his eyes as wetness started to fill his sockets. _If only… if only I had let him explain; he wouldn't have run off…_

_I compare all this to me,  
It's all fleeting momentary me  
I blink my eyes, this is reminding me  
Life lies in the blink of an eye_

"The Escapist" ~ The Streets

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**Author's Note: **Yup, short – definitely not Outside Heaven length…

So what do you think? Is Matt dead or alive? Who was in that blue Chevy?


	3. Chapter 2

Whoa, whoa, two updates in one night? Has that ever happened before? If it has, it's been awhile. It's been like seven months since I've updated this one. Whoops.

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Chapter 2

"When we got to the scene of the crime, Matt had already lost so much blood. The two in the front seat of his car were dead on the spot, as were the driver and the passenger in the other car. Matt is being transported to the E.R. immediately. But Eric—"

Eric's heart leaped a mile. _He's alive. My son is alive. _That was all he needed to hear.

He turned around and mouthed to his wife, "Let's go. We have to get to the hospital now."

"Eric," Sergeant Michaels whispered. "I'm not going to lie to you. While I'm no doctor, I've seen countless accidents during my time on the squad. If Matt survives, he'll be lucky if he doesn't have excessive brain damage. He won't be the same."

Eric's heart ached. He swallowed, trying to hold his tears back. He glanced toward his wife, who had broken into tears already. Eric moved closer to his wife and wrapped his arm around Annie. Annie fell into his chest; her tears bled through his shirt.

"Eric, I know this is a hard time for you," Sergeant Michaels spoke solidly. "But even if Matt does make it through surgery, you won't be any use to him for at least a few hours. It would mean the world to me if you would do a favor for me. Given the situation, I don't think there's anyone better for this specific task."

"What's that?" Eric inquired. Sergeant Michaels pointed toward the other ambulance. A girl around Matt's age, maybe a little younger, sat on the edge of the ambulance. She had bushy curly hair and brown eyes. Her face was soaked with tears.

A paramedic was wrapping her wrist with a bandage. Her forehead also had a bandage on it. Other than the cuts, the girl appeared to have no other damage. Immediately, Eric assumed that she was in the car that his son's driver had hit head-on, and Sergeant Michaels had said the driver and passenger had been killed.

Eric knew what Sergeant Michaels's mission was for him.

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Lucy gazed at her oldest sister's ghastly face as Mary hung up the phone. Mary's hazel eyes were glazed. Something was wrong.

"Who was it?" Lucy demanded.

Mary shook her head. "Nobody, don't worry about it. I'm going to go check on Ruthie and Simon now." Mary wouldn't look at Lucy in the eye. Immediately Lucy knew that Mary was lying.

"You're lying," Lucy accused, following Mary out of the room. The sisters stood in the hallway, just a few feet away from their youngest siblings' room.

"No I'm not. It's nothing," Mary said, just a little bit too loudly.

Lucy heard footsteps thump against the floor of her brother and sister's bedroom. A moment later, a blond eleven-year-old boy and a curly-brown haired six-year-old girl appeared in sight. Ruthie rubbed her eyes, and Simon yawned.

"What's going on? I heard the phone ring!" Ruthie exclaimed.

"Yeah, who was on the phone?" Simon inquired curiously.

"No one, it was the wrong number," Mary fabricated a lie, and Lucy knew it. Whoever was on the phone, Lucy knew, had asked for her parents. And Mary had known who it was; otherwise Mary would not have said that their parents were out of the house. It was a rule of thumb; they were not allowed to say that their parents were not home unless they knew who was on the phone.

Simon lifted one of his thick, blond eyebrows. It was almost as if he was catching onto Mary's lie. "Oh," he said. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"Don't worry, Simon," Mary insisted. "They just took a drive."

"Is Matt back yet?" Ruthie asked, her voice was high pitched. Lucy noticed Simon roll his eyes at his youngest sister's mention of their oldest brother.

Mary swallowed; Lucy noticed a trickle of sweat drip down Mary's forehead, like it did when Mary was nervous. "No, he's not."

_It has to do with Matt, _Lucy told herself, though she wasn't about to blurt something out in front of the young children. They didn't need to worry.

"How about you two go back to bed?" Mary insisted quickly. "It's late, and don't forget what Mom always says; early to bed, early to rise!" She grabbed Ruthie and picked her up. Ruthie giggled, but Simon's face remained sullen.

"Yeah, Mary's right," Lucy chimed in, though her own heart raced like a spreading fire, she was concerned for her oldest brother. The sooner the children were in bed, the sooner she could interrogate her sister.

Mary carried Ruthie into the bedroom, leaving Lucy and Simon in the hallway for a moment. Simon frowned at Lucy. "Luce, what's going on? Is it Matt? Was he hurt? Lucy, you can tell me. I'm not a kid anymore. I promise I won't say a word to Ruthie. She couldn't handle it, and besides, she idolizes Matt."

Lucy shook her own head, sighing. "I don't know, Simon. I don't know. I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't. Mary won't tell me, either."

She watched her little brother frown. "I see," he said. "Well, I guess I'll go to bed. Goodnight, Lucy." The eleven year old dragged his feet into his bedroom, and Lucy watched after him. All of a sudden it hit her how much Simon was growing up. Here he was, already in middle school. Lucy could remember when she was in sixth grade and Simon was a short blonde boy of seven or eight. He had grown up so much in the last year or two. Ruthie was lucky to have him as a big brother.

Just as she and Mary had been lucky to have Matt as a big brother. Where had Matt gone wrong? Lucy couldn't picture her brother doing any drugs. He didn't seem the type. Sure, he did some crazy stuff, but he didn't appear to be a druggie to her. It just went to show, she didn't know her brother as well as she thought she had.

She could only pray that Simon would learn from their brother's mistake. Lucy wanted to do anything in her power to guide her little brother in the right direction. She couldn't bear to see him wind up sneaking behind his family's backs like Matt had. Simon couldn't let down Ruthie like Matt had let down all of them.

Lucy returned to her bedroom. She sat on her pink bed and let the tears roll. The truth was, she didn't even know why she was crying. She was Lucy, so she cried. That was her motto, wasn't it? Part of it was disappointment, but the other part was the fear of the unknown. She knew that something was wrong, and she knew that it involved Matt.

Finally, Mary returned to the bedroom the sisters shared. She avoided eye contact with Lucy as she crawled into her bed, pulling the covers over her head. Suddenly, Lucy heard sobbing sounds. Mary was crying.

Lucy swallowed. Mary rarely cried. Lucy's worst fears were confirmed.

"It's Matt, isn't it?" Lucy blurted out. "Tell me, Mary. Tell me!" Perpetual tears flowed out of her eyes. She couldn't take Mary's hiding of important facts any longer.

Mary slowly took the blanket off her head. Her red blood-shot eyes met with Lucy. Lucy swallowed, waiting for Mary to answer.

Hoarsely, Mary whispered, "Luce, it was Sergeant Michaels on the phone. There's been an accident. Matt is being rushed to the emergency room. The drivers and front-seat passengers of both vehicles were killed on-site."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Abandoning his wife, Eric cautiously approached the teenage girl. She wore a burgundy long-sleeved shirt; she buried her face into her sleeves. As Eric came closer to her, Eric noted that black eye-liner covered her face.

The Emergency Medical Technician had finished wrapping her wrist; he stepped away, leaving the teenage girl alone, who was still sitting on the back of the ambulance.

He took a deep breath and whispered, "Hello there." Carefully, he took a seat next to her.

She tilted her head and looked up at him. At first she didn't say a word. With her right hand, she slowly pushed her long, curly brown hair behind her ear. Eric took note to her smooth, frail skin. Her white cheeks were flushed vibrant red. Her eyes were bloodshot red, and her lips were swollen.

Taking a deep breath, and wiping away her tears, she finally murmured, "Hello."

Eric took a look around at the scene of the accident. The yellow _Crime Scene _ribbon was still plastered around the cars. Swallowing hard, Eric put all of his troubles behind him. After all, that was his calling in life. He was called to help others before himself.

"I'm Reverend Eric Camden, the minister at the Glen Oak Community Church. May I ask your name?" he inquired. He had not waited for Sergeant Michaels to give him any information about the young girl.

He noticed the girl roll her eyes, as another tear started to trickle down her cheeks. "Sarah," she whispered. "My name is Sarah," then she shallowly added, "and I'm an orphan as of today."

Sarah's eyes aimed toward the crushed van, and she started to cry harder.

Eric's heart ached, going out to Sarah. She had lost her parents, and it was because of the boys who were driving in a car his son was a passenger. Indirectly, Eric felt he was responsible. If only he could have stopped Matt from running out the house. Maybe if Eric had not been so harsh on Matt, Matt would not have rebelled.

His son had not been driving, though. The only thing that might have changed would be Matt would not have been in the car. And if Matt were not in the car, then Eric knew that he would not be standing there in front of the young girl. Somehow, Eric felt as though he was destined to help her.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he said solidly. "I know how you must be feeling. It's hard to lose a parent, especially when you are so young." His face burned with embarrassment. The girl had not just lost _a _parent. She had lost both of her parents.

She covered her face with her hands, and Eric could hear her lamenting sobs. His heart sunk as he felt her pain. Though, he did not want to let her know that he was hurting also. Besides, Matt was still alive, even if he was only barely holding on.

He wrapped his arm around the teenage girl, and to his surprise she fell into his arms. Eric wrapped his arms around Sarah, like he would any of his own daughters when they cried.

"It's going to be all right," he whispered soothingly. "You're going to be all right."

Slowly, Sarah lifted her head off him and her cocoa brown eyes looked into his. "What's going to happen to me?" she mouthed. "Am I going to go into foster care? I'm sixteen. Nobody will want to adopt me. Besides, I can take care of myself just fine. I'll be going to college in two years."

Eric didn't know what to say. He had counseled plenty of teens over the years which had been placed in protective custody. The teenagers had all had different reasons for being put into the system. The majority of them were abuse victims. Each and every one had individual stories to tell. Eric had only counseled a handful of grieving teenagers, the ones that were being placed in the system because both of their parents were deceased.

Often Eric would compare the teenagers he counseled to his own children. He could always imagine Lucy crying, because she was far more sensitive than the other children. Whenever she cried, he cried inside. It was never easy to see a child in pain, emotionally or physically.

There was something about Sarah. Somehow he felt even more emotionally connected to her than he did the others he had counseled. Her tears showed real pain and fear. She reminded him of his own daughters so heavily. Eric didn't want to imagine what it would be like for Mary, Lucy, or little Ruthie if something were to happen to Annie and him.

Then he thought of Simon. The other children were going to find out about Matt's accident, and Eric knew that it would be hard on young Simon. _"...if you would have thought about anybody but yourself for a second, it might have occurred to you that the look that you just saw on Simon's face is the look of a kid who's just lost all respect for his older brother."_ Eric remembered hollering at Matt.

Eric had seen the look in his youngest son's eyes when Matt had admitted the joint belonged to him. Simon had always looked up to Matt; he had always wanted to be just like his older brother. Eric could only imagine the disappointment and distrust going through Simon's mind. With his decision, Matt had hurt Simon more than he had hurt anyone else in the family.

Still vivid in his mind, Eric could remember the day he and Annie had brought Simon home from the hospital.

_Annie's parents had so graciously volunteered come into town to watch Matt, Mary, and Lucy, so Eric could stay at the hospital with Annie and the new baby. They stayed with Matt when Mary was born, and they had stayed with Matt and Mary when Lucy was born. Eric and Annie had started to rely on her parents a little too much, Eric somehow felt._

_Charles and Jenny insisted it was a pleasure to them. Since Annie was an only child, they treasured every minute with their grandchildren. _

_Eric knew as he drove Annie and baby Simon into the driveway that there was going to be a roar of excitement the minute they walked in the door._

_He parked the car and looked in the rear-view mirror at his new baby boy. At last, he had another son. Their family felt complete, now with two boys and two girls. _

_For a moment, Eric observed the boy's full head of blond hair. Matt had been blond for the first twelve months of his life too, but then his hair had begun to change color. Secretly, Eric hoped to himself that little Simon's hair would stay blond._

_Before he could even open the door, Eric saw the front door fly open. He watched his six-year-old son run down the stairs. The dark-haired boy wore a wide smile full of excitement._

"_I want to see the new baby!" Matt chirped, standing by the back door to the van. "I want to see my new brother! I'm so glad that I'm no longer the only boy in this family." _

_Eric saw his wife grin. She stepped out of the car, opened the back sliding door, and started to unbuckle the baby. _

"_I'll get him, Annie. Are you sure you're strong enough?" Eric jumped out of the car, running toward his wife._

"_Eric, I've given birth to four children now. I think I'm strong enough to carry my son's carriage into the house!" his wife snapped, and tears started to roll out of her eyes. "I'm so insulted! You men think you're so strong and powerful!" _

"_No, no, no!" Eric sighed, looking up at the sky. "That's not what I meant." He knew that she didn't mean to be emotional, and that by then he should be used to it. After all, they had brought home four babies over the last six years._

_Before he could turn back to the baby, Matt had crawled in the car and was hovering over his little brother. "Hey there, little guy," Eric heard his son say. "I'm your big brother Matt, and I'm gonna protect you from your big sisters for now, and when you're a little older I'm gonna teach you how to ride a bike without training wheels like I learned this year. I'm going to be the best big brother ever; I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about life!" _

Eric's body tingled with the memory. Eleven years had passed, and somehow, it seemed like Matt had forgotten many of his promises to Simon. Simon had grown quickly, and by the time it was time for Simon to learn how to ride a bike, Matt had been in middle school. He had become "too cool" to hang out with his little brother.

Somehow, though, over the last few months Eric had thought his oldest son had gotten his life back on track. Eric had noticed a remarkable increase in Matt's grades. He still hadn't been able to hold down a job, but his grades were increasing. Eric had begun to think that Matt was focusing so much on school that he just wasn't putting his full effort into the jobs he had had.

Now, Eric didn't know. He felt like he didn't know his oldest son as well as he thought he once had.

He looked toward Sarah and whispered, "I'll go find out where they're going to take you, okay?"

Eric had something else in mind. The girl didn't respond.

He pushed himself off the couch and walked toward his wife, who had gotten back in their car. Immediately, Eric noticed her damp face. She looked up and made eye contact with Eric.

A few feet away from his parked car, Sergeant Michaels was conversing with another police officer.

Eric lifted his pointer finger for Annie to see, indicating "one second." She nodded, seeming to understand. Eric moved toward Sergeant Michaels. Sergeant Michaels didn't say a word when he saw Eric stop.

"What are you going to do with the girl?" Eric asked.

Sergeant Michaels released a sigh and shook his head. "I imagine she'll be assigned a case worker, and put into the system until she's eighteen. At her age, it'll be difficult to find a home for her, so she'll probably live in a group home until stable relatives can be located to take custody of her; that is, providing such relatives exist. As of now, we haven't asked her about her relatives. Eric, the girl just witnessed her parents' death. I can't even imagine witnessing such a traumatic event. It's difficult enough to lose your parents, but to watch them die so violently has to be so much worse."

Eric nodded. "Neither can I. Sergeant Michaels, if it's possible…I'd like to make a request."

Sergeant Michael gave Eric a surprised look. "Eric, you have a lot on your plate right now. I'm surprised you're willing to be so involved."

"You asked me to talk to her for a reason," Eric pointed out. Sergeant Michaels nodded. "I think, well, I feel like I'm destined to help her. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to bring her to my house."

Sergeant Michaels let out a sigh. "Well, I'm not sure if that's the best idea. For one, you'll have to converse that with Annie. And for two, you have to tell your children about Matt. Are you sure that Mary, Lucy, Simon, and Ruthie will want another teenager in the house? It's going to be hard enough telling them about Matt. I don't know if it's the best idea for you to bring the girl whose parents were killed by the car your son was riding in."

"It's not Matt's fault," Eric defended his son, despite the situation. "He wasn't driving…he wasn't thinking clearly. And you're right. It's going to be hard on the kids. But it might teach them a lesson. That life should be cherished."

A vivid image went through Eric's head. He imagined his son just moments before the head-on collision. He wondered what was going through Matt's mind. Likewise, Eric figured, Matt was thinking about how he hated his father. He was thinking about what a jerk his father was.

Eric didn't want that to be his son's last thought. _Lord Jesus, please let Matt be all right. _

"You're always one for giving lessons," Sergeant Michaels patted Eric's shoulder. "Even in a time of crisis, Eric, you're always thinking about others. I commend you. I know that I could never care as much as you do."

"I want to do the right thing," was all Eric could say. "I want to do what God sent me here to do. He didn't send me here to see the accident that is going to change my family's life forever. He sent me here to help someone else."

"I know you do," Sergeant Michaels said. "And it's okay with me if you take her home, but talk about it with Annie first."

Eric nodded. He looked toward his wife, whose hands were covered over her eyes. Eric took a deep breath and walked toward the car. He opened the door, sitting next to his bawling wife.

"Well, let's go," Annie whimpered. "We have to get to the hospital. We have to see how Matt is doing. Eric, he needs us. I need to see my baby." When Eric didn't respond or didn't start the car, he saw his wife's eyes grow furious. "Well, why aren't you starting the car, Eric? What's going on?"

"Annie," Eric whispered solemnly. "I need to discuss something with you."

"What? Oh my God! Sergeant Michaels heard something from the hospital, didn't he? Something didn't happen to Matt, did it? God! If something happened to Matt before I could get to the hospital, Eric, I'll never forgive you for dawdling around!" Annie shrieked.

"Calm down, Annie," Eric instructed.

"Calm down!" Annie screeched, tugging on her hair. Her face flushed an angry red color. "How do you expect me to _calm down _when they are telling me that my son may not make it through surgery, that my son might have severe brain damage? How am I supposed to calm down when I have to live with the fact that this is _my entire fault_?"

"Annie, this isn't your fault. If it's anyone's, it's all mine. But whose fault is all irrelevant now."

Annie hesitantly looked toward him. "All right, I'm all ears."

"I talked to the girl…the girl who lost her parents in this accident," Eric began. "And I can't imagine what she's going through. It has to be really hard…I was thinking…maybe we could bring her to our house?"

"No!" Annie immediately responded with a shrill. "Absolutely not—Eric, we have our own problems to worry about! I mean, yes, it's sad about her losing her parents. Eric, we have _our son _we need to tend to. He could be on his death table, and I want to be there with him. He needs his mother's love. Really, Eric, think about it. We can't take on another child right now."

"She's not a child. She's sixteen. That's only one year younger than Matt, and one year older than Mary," Eric protested. "And, Annie, did it ever occur to you that we were sent here for a reason? That maybe that it's not all about our son? Maybe we're supposed to help this girl, Annie."

Annie shook her head. "Eric, like I said, it's terribly sad about her parents. But this is our son we're talking about. And we have four other children at home. What are we going to say to them? 'Oh, hey kids. Your brother's in critical condition at the hospital. We brought you a replacement sister.'"

"You don't get it, do you?" Eric scoffed. "Not a single soul out there could replace our son! This isn't about replacing him. This is about helping a girl who's lost both of her parents because of the vehicle our son was riding in—"

"—so you're blaming our son. It's not his fault. He wasn't driving!"

"I know that, Annie," Eric bluntly responded. "But, Annie, did it ever occur to you that our son might have been high? That maybe his friends were high, too? Surely, some drugs affected this accident. Sergeant Michaels hasn't mentioned the drugs to me. But I'm sure when they take a blood sample of Matt's blood at the hospital, it will all be revealed. When they do autopsies of the deceased boys, it will all be revealed."

"Matt wasn't high," Annie protested.

"You say that like you're so sure," Eric observed. "Why are you so sure that our son wasn't high? If you ask me, he had to be pretty high to get in that car with those boys."

"A mother knows her son," Annie hastily responded. "I just know, Eric. Matt was not high."

"Then will you explain _why_ he had the joint if he wasn't smoking it?"

"There's a difference between smoking it and being in possession of it. You're always one to jump to conclusions too quickly. You always have been, Eric Camden."

Eric didn't want to argue. It was not the time to argue with her. She was hurt, and so was he. He had seen families lose children to drunk driving and to drugs; he had counseled victims who had lost their legs and arms because of a car accident; he had counseled drug addicts who were in remission. Never in a million years did he think he would have to go through any of it with his own child.

Around a year ago, Eric had questioned his son why none of them were into drugs. _"Mary's a team player. She has basketball to fit in. Simon already knows who he is. Ruthie's…five." _

"_You forgot about Lucy," _Eric had responded.

"_No, she's the one you have to worry about." _

"_Why's that?" _

"_Because she feels left out." _

The thought boggled Eric's mind. He realized that Matt had never mentioned himself. What if Matt had been using back then? If he was, then he must have thought he was pretty clever.

Matt's response had sounded all-too logical to Eric. _There's no way he could have been involved with drugs back then, _Eric concluded.

But then again, the last hours had proven that Eric didn't know his son as well as he thought he had. Matt had fooled him. Matt had fooled him all, in particularly Annie.

Eric wrapped his arms around his wife. Annie cried and cried, while Eric tried to bottle his tears inside. Men were not supposed to cry. He had to remain strong for his wife.

"Go get her," Annie whispered out of the blue. "Let's bring the girl home with us. You're right. There's a reason we're here, and it's more than our son's foolishness."

* * *

_**Reviews are very much appreciated!**_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mary lay on her soft bed. Not even her bed could bring her comfort. She lay flat on her back, looking straight above her at the white ceiling. In the bed next to her, she could hear the soft sobs of her younger sister.

_I knew I shouldn't have told her, _Mary somberly thought, but she knew that Lucy would have found out soon enough. Sooner or later, their mother and father would return home.

Where were their mother and father? Without cell phones, it was impossible to contact them. Of course, one could not expect any one in their family to have such modern technology. They had only installed cable television three years ago.

Mary covered her head, and closed her wet eyes. The warm liquid still splashed in her eyes. Her thoughts wandered, as she wondered if she would ever see her older brother alive again. She wondered if she'd ever have another argument with him, if he'd ever try to protect her from a boy at school again.

Growing up, Matt always had a way to butt into her life, and she had always taken it for granted. In fact, she had always found his butting in to be annoying.

She remembered her first boyfriend, her first kiss. Jeff had been Matt's best friend, and admittedly Mary had crushed on him since she was ten. She was in disbelief when Jeff had admitted to her that he was interested in her.

Matt had discouraged them both, and she thought he was just being an ass. When she looked back at it all, she realized her brother had a point. She had destroyed Matt and Jeff's friendship. Jeff hadn't stepped foot in the Camden house since he and Mary had broken up.

Mary rolled over on her stomach, and her tears soaked into her pillow. She had enough memories of her brother to make a whole movie. And she would have given anything to have one more scene of that movie. She would have give anything to have Matt tell her what to do one more time, or to have him make fun of her one last time, like he had when they were kids.

_She was ten, Matt was twelve. Despite his being two years older than her, she was the same height as him. Matt had just joined the seventh grade basketball team and was shooting hoops in the backyard. Mary had insisted that they shoot hoops together._

"_Hah, you can't make a basket. You're a girl!" Matt had teased. He wore a big, quirky grin on his face, like he did when he was being a jerk. He dribbled the ball a few times back and forth._

_Mary's heart began to race, building up adrenaline. "Wanna make a bet on that?" _

"_Hah. If you can shoot before me, then I bet your chores for the next week!" Matt insisted, taking a shot for the basket. The basketball barely touched the rim, and it bounced to the concrete._

_Mary ran toward the ball and began dribbling it herself. "You're on," she said, looking toward her older brother. "If I make a basket first, then you have to do my chores for a week. If you shoot a basket first, then I have to do yours for a week."_

"_It's a deal, sis." Matt smirked, "Let's pinky promise." _

_Mary held the ball in her left arm and stuck out her pinky, walking toward her brother. The two shook pinkies, and before she could turn toward the basket, Matt slammed the ball out of her head. "You're going to have a blast scrubbing the bathroom for a week!" Matt laughed, dribbling the ball toward the basket. He shot, that time hitting the backboard, and the ball bounced back to the ground._

_Swiftly, Mary grabbed the ball and dribbled. Matt stood in front of her, attempting to block her. Confidently, she dribbled the ball a few times. She looked into her brother's bumptious brown eyes. His face was drenched with sweltering sweat, and she noticed he was panting, trying to keep up with her. _

_Mary's eyes focused on the basket. She took a deep breath and put her left arm out in front of her, protecting the ball from Matt's steal. Her heart was pounding hard, and what happened next was only a blur. She only remembered lifting the ball above her head, extending her arm with all of the muscles in her upper body, and watching the orange basketball land in the round net ahead. _

_A rush of excitement overtook her. She smiled, and extended her finger toward her brother, who merely stared in disbelief. _

"_Take that! You're doing the dishes for a week!" _

Mary would do anything to go back to that moment. Even if it had turned out the other way, she wouldn't mind reliving it. If she never saw Matt again, Mary didn't know how she would live with herself.

She had treated him terribly on more than one occasion, failing to realize what a great brother she had. Last spring when she was run over, Matt had beat up the boy who had done it. Granted, it had not been the right thing for him to do, he was only doing it to stand up for her. And she admired him for that.

His motives had always been good.

She just couldn't believe it. If he truly was doing pot, why hadn't she seen it? When she did think about it, he had seemed a little more distant over the last couple months. Mary had assumed it was because Heather had gone out East, and he was missing her.

Then it hit Mary. What if it had been Heather's leaving that had caused Matt to turn to drugs? He was lonely, and he missed her. So, of course it would make sense that he would turn to something so brainless.

A week ago, their dad had found a letter addressed to "Mrs. Matt Camden." Of course, their parents had assumed the worst. Matt did some crazy stuff, but Mary would never in a million years have thought that drugs were the cause. As it turned out, the whole letter had been a corny joke on Ruthie and Simon.

Then again, over the last few months Mary had been caught up in her own love life. She hadn't had the time to check up on her older brother, to see if he was okay. She had been so focused on getting Wilson to say that he loved her, to progress her relationship with Wilson. Maybe if she had taken a moment to stop thinking about herself, she would have noticed that Matt was in trouble. Maybe she could have foreseen it all. She could have prevented the accident.

She pulled her blanket further over her head. The warmth from her comforter steamed against her skin. Her face felt like it was on fire. Her throat throbbed, burning. Suddenly, she realized Lucy's tears had stopped. _Lucy must have fallen asleep, _Mary thought.

A screech from downstairs alarmed her. Her heart fluttered. She immediately sat up in bed and glanced over at her sister. To Mary's surprise, her sister's swollen blue eyes stared back.

"Are Mom and Dad back?" Lucy whispered, pushing her straight blonde hair behind her ear.

Mary didn't respond. Her eyes turned toward the door; her feet slowly touched the floor and she began walking toward the door. The window blinds were shut, and she had turned the hallway light off when she had come in the bedroom. Therefore, the room was pitched black. Mary quietly walked toward the entrance to her bedroom, hoping to flick the hallway light on.

Behind her, Lucy jumped off the bed. Mary turned around and hissed, "Stay here."

"Why?" Lucy whined; Mary could see her sister's fiendish glare through the dark. "I want to see Mom and Dad! I want to know how Matt is doing. He's my brother. I have the right to know what's going on."

Mary rolled her eyes. Despite how she wanted her parents to herself, she had no possible rebuttal to Lucy's defense. "Okay, fine. Come along. Just be quiet, we can't wake up Simon and Ruthie."

"Whatever," Lucy snarled.

Mary glanced down the hallway, making sure Simon and Ruthie's door was shut. When she saw that it was, she quickly flicked the light in the hallway on. Immediately, she could feel the effects of her swollen pupils shrinking. She blinked her eyes repetitively; she noticed that Lucy was doing the same.

The two sisters tip-toed past their younger brother and sister's room, making their way to the stairway. From the top of the stairway, Mary could hear soft whispers coming from below.

"Shhh, Eric, we don't want to wake the kids," Mary heard her mother's voice.

"Yes, I know, Annie," her father murmured. A loud sound vibrated through the floor. "Oops."

Her mother released a loud sigh.

Lucy edged her feet closer to the top of the stairway. Mary stretched her arm out to stop Lucy from going any further, but just as her hand barely brushed against Lucy's nightgown, her mother's voice called out, "Never mind. Girls, come down."

Alarmed, Mary showed her face. Darkness from downstairs filled her eyes, enlarging her pupils again. Her mother and father's shadows were both aimed up the stairway. "How'd you know we were up here?" she interrogated, just as she saw a third shadow standing next to her mother and father. _Matt? _Mary presumed immediately. _Maybe he's okay after all! _She couldn't help but hold false hope.

"I have my ways," her mother insisted, grimacing. Mary took note to the frail wrinkles surrounding her mother's lips. Dark circles surrounded Annie Camden's weary eyes.

Mary and Lucy ran down the stairs; just as they reached the bottom of the staircase, the flights beamed on. "There's the switch," Mary heard her father's deep voice, and almost instantly she realized that the third shadow was not Matt.

A pale, thin girl stood tearfully stood between Mary's parents. Mary had never seen the girl in her life, but she wouldn't place the girl to be much younger than herself. The girl's long, dark brown hair was pushed behind her ears. Her dark brown eyes were bloodshot from crying, and her frail face was tear-stained.

Mary and Lucy both gazed at her with curiosity. They looked back and forth between their parents' somber faces.

"Mary, Lucy, this is Sarah. She's going to be staying with us for awhile," their father finally introduced the dark-haired girl. He placed his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Sarah, Mary and Lucy are our oldest daughters. I'm sure that they will be more than happy to make you feel at home here." He gave Mary and Lucy a glare, hinting not to ask questions.

Mary and Lucy glanced at each other; Mary could see the confusion on her sister's face, and she felt the confusion on her own. But rather than asking questions, she extended her hand to Sarah.

"Hi, I'm Mary, and that's Lucy. Welcome to our home. We'd love to show you upstairs to our room."

Lucy took the cue. "Absolutely, we'll take good care of you here. Mom and Dad are really good at taking care of people." Her pale peach-colored lips curved noticeably upward.

Sarah timidly looked away, and tears started to stream down her white cheeks.

Mary watched her mother extend her arms forward and wrap them around Sarah. Sarah fell into Annie's arms, just like she were her daughter. At the same time, Mary watched clear liquid stream from her mother's eyes.

_It has to be bad, _she thought_, this isn't good. _A sick feeling tightened inside her stomach. She couldn't stand her lack of knowing.

Her father looked at Mary and Lucy. "Girls," he said, "why don't you take Sarah upstairs? It's been a long night."

"Follow me," Lucy insisted, wrapping her arm around Sarah. "It's going to be okay. Whatever it is, it'll pass…let's go upstairs." Lucy and Sarah began walking up the stairs, but Mary didn't immediately follow.

"Mom…Dad…how's Matt?" Mary whispered. Her parents looked at each other, but when neither answered, Mary became impatient. "Please," she begged, "tell me…I'm the oldest. I need to know."

"Mare bear, don't worry about it now," her father said. Mary's throat burned when she heard her father use his pet name for her that he had not used since she was ten. She knew that it had to be bad.

"Dad—"

"—Mare, go upstairs with your sister. There's plenty of time for explanations tomorrow. Your mom and I are going out to the hospital, so if you could keep an eye on the kids we'd greatly appreciate it," her father interrupted.

_The hospital, _she thought_, that means he's still alive. _

"Okay, Dad," she murmured. "Don't worry about us here. I'll take care of the kids. I just wish you trusted me more to give me the full scoop."

She hoped she had guilt-tripped him into giving her the full story, but when he didn't respond, she turned around to go upstairs. Before she took her first step, she glanced back at her parents. Her father's blue eyes were filled with tears as he gazed back.

"I trust you, Mary," he whispered. "And I thank you. I love you, Mary; and I want you to know that. And I appreciate everything you've done. You're such a good big sister."

"Dad, everything I know I learned from Matt," she mouthed, a burning sensation took over her throat. "He just couldn't have. There's no way…he wasn't a drug addict." The tears started to stream down her face, and she ran over to her father. She fell into his arms, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I couldn't believe it either, Mare. Not until I saw it with my own eyes," her father hoarsely whispered.

"He didn't, Dad. He couldn't have."


End file.
